


Vanity

by The_Fangirl_Sunstorm



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: (it's Ronan what else did you expect), Blue & Ronan friendship, Blue Sargent is a lil vain, But honestly that just makes her even more of a mood, Canon Compliant, Gen, Hurt Blue Sargent, I was trying to explore their friendship a bit, In which Ronan gives good advice, Injured Blue Sargent, Light profanity, Opal makes an appearance, Ronan Lynch is a good friend, Ronan to the rescue, in which Blue's fashion choices catch up with her, not sure if I entirely succeeded but oh well, post end of the series, post- the raven king
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:08:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27486286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Fangirl_Sunstorm/pseuds/The_Fangirl_Sunstorm
Summary: In which Blue's fashion choices lead her to be stranded by the side of the road with a twisted ankle.Luckily, Ronan is there to help.
Relationships: Blue Sargent & Ronan Lynch, referenced Blusey
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	Vanity

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a few months since I've read this series so apologies in advance for any botched details. 
> 
> That being said, hope you enjoy.

In retrospect, Blue really should have watched where she was going, or at the very least worn sturdier shoes. Her beat up old converse had seemed like a worthy choice at the time, but the girl later found herself wishing for her combat boots. Maybe if she had worn them, she could have avoided the whole thing altogether. 

Blue had been driven by impulse that morning, having been given the day off from her shift at work. The memory of Gansey’s ghost at the churchyard was pressing more heavily on her mind than normal, and without any conscious thought she found herself biking over there. It was a long trip, and she found herself breathing heavily as she reached her destination. She sat beside the crumbling church, pulling her legs up to her chest to survey the surrounding area. She thought about how much had changed since that first night, before she had met her Raven Boys and been pulled into the search for a legend. Before she had kissed Gansey, before Noah was gone. She smiled, bittersweet. 

Blue sat there for a few minutes, soaking in the quiet before she picked herself up. Maura had been strangely protective lately, though Blue supposed a part of it came from the guilt of her disappearance. Either way Blue thought it best to head home before her mother worried. Lost in thought, Blue noticed too late that the ground in front of her was unsteady, and her ankle twisted sharply as she stepped in a hole, likely some kind of animal burrow. With a hiss of pain Blue pulled her foot back out, losing her balance and falling on her tailbone. 

_ Great, now she was going to have a bruise to go with the sprain. _ Blue though, biting her lip to keep from whimpering. She took her left shoe off and probed the ankle with a finger, grimacing at the sting. Loosening the laces as much as possible to avoid pressure, Blue slid her shoe back on and tried to stand, knee almost buckling under the pain.  _ She was so screwed _ . 

Keeping all of her weight on her good foot, Blue managed to hobble to her bike where it was laying by the side of the road. She lowered herself delicately to the ground, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She dialed the number for 300 Fox Way, without success. Orla was probably on a call then. She thought to call Gansey next, but remembered that he had been summoned to visit his family for the weekend. Adam was most likely working, and didn’t have a phone anyway. That only left Ronan. Blue bit her lip, pride keeping her from dialing the number. The chance of Ronan answering was next to nothing, since he still hated phones with a passion, but he was the only option. If he didn’t pick up she would just have to wait until Orla was off the phone so her call could go through. Blue made a mental note to exchange some sharp words with her cousin later, and finally hit Ronan’s contact in her phone. The phone rang, once, twice, three times; and Blue resigned herself to having to wait for Orla until the phone finally picked up. 

Blue was surprised. The line was quiet except for the sound of someone breathing on the other end. 

“Hey” Blue started out hesitantly, “It’s Blue. Is this Ronan?” 

More quiet, as if the person on the other end was debating how to respond. Finally a small, feminine voice rang out. “No.” It sounded familiar, but Blue didn’t have time to piece together why until a deeper voice joined from the background.

“Hey what are you doing with that brat? Put it down before you break it.” Ronan scolded the phone bearer. 

“But it was making noise!” The other voice protested and Blue recognized who it was. The little blond girl from Ronan’s dreams. Blue could hear a scuffle on the other end of the line and suddenly Ronan’s voice was beside the phone.

“Sargent, why the hell are you calling? Don’t you have better things to do?”

Blue hesitated, suddenly sheepish. “I umm… kinda twisted my ankle. I can’t get ahold of anyone at my house, and I need a ride.”

“Seriously?” Ronan sighed. “Of course your klutzy ass couldn’t handle two days of your boyfriend being gone without getting yourself into trouble.” Ronan’s tone shifted to one of concern. “You ok?”

“I’ll live.” Blue replied, unwilling to seem weak. “I’m outside the churchyard on the ley line.”

“I’ll be there in 30 minutes.” Ronan said simply before hanging up. The drive all the way from the Barns to the churchyard should have been impossible in such a short time, but she didn’t doubt the boy’s words. Knowing him, he would probably floor the gas the whole way there. 

True to his word, only about half an hour passed before Ronan’s dream car screeched to a stop a few yards in front of the churchyard. He stepped out of the vehicle and looked Blue up and down with practiced nonchalance, as if he was picking her up from school and not a graveyard in the middle of nowhere. Not to be outdone, Blue tried to push herself up, planning to at the very least be standing to meet him, but instead stumbling back to the ground and scraping the palm of her hand on the asphalt. 

Ronan gave a short bark of laughter at the spectacle, and Blue looked around for a rock or something equally unpleasant to throw at him. Finding nothing, she settled on giving him an unimpressed look as he reached her side, though it probably didn’t amount to much given that he had just seen her fall flat on her butt. 

“Geez Sargent, you really know how to beat yourself up. You look like hell.”

“Thanks, I had no idea.” Blue retorted without heat. “Mind giving me a hand with my bike?”

Ronan snorted. “I think you need to check your priorities. Judging by your luck so far, if I leave you here you’ll probably find a way to impale yourself on a tree branch before I get back. I’ll take you to the car first, then the bike.”

In another situation, Blue might resent being babied, but as it was she didn’t think she could walk to the car by herself anyway, so she allowed him to drape her arm over his shoulders, bending down to match her short height and letting her lean her weight on him. The pair walked slowly to the car, and Ronan deposited her in the front seat, before turning back to grab her bike and placing it haphazardly in the backseat. He grabbed a small bag from the back and stood outside the open passenger door. She realized it was a first aid kit. It was surprisingly practical of him, but as often as Ronan got cuts and bruises she supposed it made sense he would keep some supplies on hand. 

Wordlessly, he grabbed her scraped hand and dabbed it with a cloth dipped in hydrogen peroxide. Blue winced. 

“Hey watch it. That stings.” 

“Your fault for falling.” Ronan said, words harsh but actions gentle as he bandaged her hand. Task finished, he leveled his gaze on her. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“Careful there Ronan, you almost sounded like you care.” She teased. 

“Shut it shorty. And that still doesn’t answer my question. Out with it.” She’d never pegged Ronan for a worrier, but the crease between his eyebrows gave him away. He reminded her of Gansey when the boy was particularly stressed, a fact that would have made her smirk if she hadn’t valued her life. As it stood, she figured it was best to keep the observation to herself.

“Other than a bruised tailbone and my tattered reputation I’m totally fine.” Blue reassured. Ronan blew out a breath that was half exasperation and half-relief. 

“Ok then.” Ronan said. He closed Blue’s car door gently and walked around to the drivers side, sliding behind the wheel before turning to look at her again. “I’ll admit Sargent, I half expected to find you here bleeding out or something. I wouldn’t put it past you to play it down when you were really hurt.”

“Sorry to disappoint.” Blue responded, trying her best to seem cool and unconcerned in spite of the pain. “I won’t even get a cool scar out of this.” She winced in spite of herself as her ankle throbbed. 

Ronan’s eyes softened a fraction in sympathy. He reached into the car’s center console and pulled out a bottle of Advil, handing her a tablet. Blue swallowed it dry. 

The car roared to life under Ronan’s hand as they started out for 300 Fox Way. Without looking at her, Ronan continued their conversation. “So what the hell were you doing out there anyway?” 

“Just... thinking.” Blue answered simply. She trailed off, more words pushing at the back of her throat but unsure whether she should let them fall. Blue twisted her fingers in her lap and stared out the window. He glanced over at her. 

“Look, I know I probably rank at the bottom of the list of people you’d want to have a feeling-sy conversation with, but imma go out on a limb and say something is bugging you. Normally I’d say talk to Gansey about it, but I’m guessing if it was something you thought you could say to him, you already would have.” He paused for a moment, as if choosing his words with more care than normal. “If you need to get something off your chest, I promise I’ll be chill about it.”

Blue pursed her lips and considered the offer. Ronan was many things, but a liar wasn’t one of them. If he said he was there for her, than he was there for her, he’d already proven as much by coming to get her in the first place. She surprised herself with how comfortable she felt around him, but then again they had risked their lives together before, something which had brought the whole group closer. She could trust him with this also.

“I’m afraid.” Blue started, surprising herself at her own bluntness. Even injured and driven by emotion, Blue was still sensible, getting straight to the point. “I’m worried about Gansey, which is totally irrational and lame. I still think about seeing his ghost sometimes and then I have to remind myself that it’s already over, I don’t have to be afraid of him dying anymore. But sometimes I feel like I’m just holding my breath, waiting for something to go wrong again.”

Ronan was quiet for a moment, face scrunched up in thought. Finally he spoke. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Wish I could tell you the whole fear thing goes away but it really doesn’t. I asked Adam once about Gansey, if he thought he’d be ok after what happened, or if the new body might have some weird flaw we don’t know about. He said some magician-y stuff and that he wasn’t one hundred percent certain but it all boiled down to this: Gansey’s second second chance at life was a gift from Cabeswater, and seeing how Dick the Third didn’t come with a receipt, I’m pretty sure we get to keep him.”

Blue was quiet for a moment, letting Ronan’s words sink in. She felt a bit of the tension draining from her thoughts at his reply, reassured by his easy tone. 

“You’re probably right.” She breathed.

“Damn right I am!” Ronan smirked.

The rest of the car ride was spent in comfortable silence, and it wasn’t long before they reached Blue’s home. Ronan parked by the curb and his car quieted, sounding more like it was returning to sleep than really turning off. 

“Alright let’s get you inside.” Ronan said. 

“Thank you Ronan.” She said and meant it.

“Don’t mention it. I still have a reputation to uphold ya know.” Ronan said, joking now as he got out of the car and crossed to meet her, extending an arm to pull her up out of her seat. Blue’s face went a bit pale from strain but she didn’t complain as they made their way to the front door. Ronan rang it, knowing better than to come barging in after a few near fights with Calla. The door was opened by Maura, looking worried but unsurprised to see the teens on her porch.

“Thought so.” She muttered under her breath as her eyes landed on Blue’s ankle. “Would you mind guiding her to the couch for me?” She directed at Ronan who nodded and half-carried the hobbling Blue down the hallway, where the floor was littered with various piles of knick knacks and laundry. Blue was glad for the support, the halls were hazardous even on two normal legs. 

Ronan dropped her on the couch and moved to lean against the opposite wall. Blue could hear noise from the other parts of the house, but the sitting room was mercifully empty; meaning that no one else would be able to question how she had hurt herself. She made a mental note to come up with a cool story to tell later so she wouldn’t have to admit to stepping in a hole... or falling twice after that. Blue removed her shoes with a wince and waited for Maura, who rounded the corner with a small basket of first aid supplies and an ice pack in hand. She propped her daughter’s foot up on a cushion and inspected it with a frown, noticing the redness and the swelling. Blue winced again as her mother prodded at the injury.

“Honestly Blue, didn’t Calla tell you to wear shoes with ankle support this month?” Maura scolded, placing the ice pack over the injury.

“I listened for the first week, but I missed my sneakers.” Blue complained. “Would’ve been nice if she’d been a bit more specific on the date.”

“Wait so you  _ knew _ this would happen?” Ronan asked from the opposite wall. 

“Not exactly!” Blue said defensively. “Calla mentioned like two weeks ago that I should wear sturdy shoes this month but she didn’t explain why. There was only so many days in a row I was willing to wear the same combat boots without a good reason.”

“Well you won’t be wearing  _ any _ shoes for at least 24 hours.” Maura declared. “You’ll have to stay home tomorrow and keep your weight off of your foot.” Blue groaned and Ronan snickered. 

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” 

“Nope.” Maura confirmed cheekily. “You are officially banned from walking anywhere by yourself until further notice. Consider yourself on house arrest.” The older woman turned to head back to the kitchen, giving a nod to Ronan as she left. 

“Don’t let her do this to me.” Blue pleaded with Ronan. “Tell her she’s overreacting.”

“Not a chance shorty. I’ve gotta get back to the Barns, and I don’t feel like spending the energy on a losing battle. Just consider yourself lucky Gansey out of town, or you’d have him hovering over you too.” 

Blue picked sulkily at the edge of the bandage on her hand as the other teen headed for the door. Lifting his fingers to his temple in a joking salute, he turned to go before Blue spoke.

“Hey Ronan, wait a minute.” The boy stopped to look at her. “Thanks… for everything.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Ronan replied easily, “Just don’t make a habit out of hurting yourself and needing to be rescued.” He smiled a real, genuine smile and then walked out the door, leaving Blue to her fate. 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos, comments, and constructive criticism are all welcome. 
> 
> Thanks for reading.


End file.
